


Peer Gynt in the Cage in the Hall of the Troll King of the Mountain

by IcyAndTheFrostBites



Series: (Blank)-Ships [4]
Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons), Trollhunters (Cartoon), Trollhunters - Daniel Kraus & Guillermo del Toro
Genre: Canon Compliant, however there is pain mentioned, no graphic descriptions of violence, takes place during season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:53:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22871302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IcyAndTheFrostBites/pseuds/IcyAndTheFrostBites
Summary: Jim and Nomura bond in the Dark Lands.
Relationships: Jim Lake Jr. & Nomura (Tales of Arcadia)
Series: (Blank)-Ships [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1118061
Comments: 8
Kudos: 54





	Peer Gynt in the Cage in the Hall of the Troll King of the Mountain

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting in my drive since August 2018. Here. You can have it.

Lying in his holding cell, surrounded by the dim light of the glowing crystals, Jim closed his eyes and attempted to will away the pain. Everything throbbed in time to the growing ache in his head. He tried not to breathe too deeply – the rattling of his ribs made everything worse.

He tried not to think about how his mom would probably say he had broken, cracked, and/or bruised ribs. And a concussion. And… who knew what else. Thank god he had the armor. Who knew what kind of damage he would have sustained without it. If he’d even be **_alive_ ** without it. 

He gulped, his dry throat protesting. How long had he been without water? Too long. And food? He didn’t want to think about it. It was more painful than what he was feeling. He just hoped it would be all over soon.

He could hear Nomura shifting around in the cell next to him. She didn’t speak much, but her presence was more than enough company. They were comrades of sorts, stuck in a place known only for death and decay and darkness.

He welcomed her somewhat familiar face, no matter if they had been enemies before.

“You have survived another day,” she said after a while. 

He grunted in response, not trusting his lips or mouth to form coherent words. They tingled anyway, numb from either the pain or the chill that had set in sometime during his elongated stay there.

Down the halls, he could hear the distant sounds of the guards being changed. It was an odd thought that even the Gumm Gumms got tired and needed to rest. 

“Don’t tell me you’ve regressed. Surely being around Draal hasn’t diminished your intelligence **_that_ ** much.”

“Draal has nothing to do with… this.” Okay, so he could form words. That was a good sign. It hurt, but it was a good sign.

“Ah, and he is able to speak.”

“Hurts though.”

She gave a sound of… he thought it was sympathy, but it could have been empathy all the same. Gunmar had her called in occasionally as well. She always seemed to be a bit better off, but he didn’t miss the winces she tried to hide. 

He, however, was the favorite plaything since he arrived. He’d get called in at odd hours. He didn’t think he had gotten a good night’s sleep since… since deciding to go into the Darklands.

“Do you still have hope that your friends will come for you?” she said, her tone soft and imploring. 

“Always,” he said, opening his eyes. The stalactites above his head threatened to fall, pointing down at every vulnerable part of him. He didn’t think he had it in him to dodge if they did. “That’s what friends are for. No matter what.”

She gave a scoff – of disgust or distaste, he wasn’t sure.

“Too much hope isn’t a good thing, Little Gynt,” she said. “What if they never come for you? What if you die before they arrive?”

“Then I’ll die knowing they tried. Besides, Draal would be the next Trollhunter.”

“You sound positive of that.”

“It’s just a feeling. The previous guys, in my amulet, they didn’t like the idea of me coming here very much. Since Claire’s brother was taken, and I made the promise in the first place. I think a few of them still don’t like me.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Months? I’m… I’m not really sure. I don’t know what day it is or how long I’ve been here. I’ve lost track.”

“Gunmar’s doing that to you on purpose. He wants to break you, to make you lose hope.”

“He can try,” Jim said, grunting as he sat up and wincing at the pain, “but he won’t win. He **_can’t_ ** win. I wasn’t chosen for nothing, you know.”

“Yes, yes. You fleshbags are oddly resilient. I’ve lived enough centuries to know that.”

“What was it like?”

“What?”

“Where you grew up, what was it like?”

“Do you want the short version,” she said, “or the long version?”

He leaned up against the side of the cell, the wall that separated their two cells. He could hear her do the same in turn. She already knew his answer before he replied.

“We got time,” he said. “We’ve got plenty of time.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any ideas or prompts for (Blank)-ships, go ahead and send them my way! I can always use some ideas.


End file.
